This invention relates to wound dressings, particularly those which may be packaged in a dispensing tube.
Draining wounds, such as Stage I-IV pressure ulcers, venous stasis ulcers, arterial ulcers, diabetic ulcers, donor sites, abrasions, lacerations, superficial burns, post-surgical wounds, and other external wounds, have often been a medical problem. Such wounds often contain necrotic tissue, and at the same time draining sites for blood, serum, etc. If such materials are allowed to accumulate and the wound not regularly cleaned, it is an ideal place for bacterial growth which, of course, promotes infection.
It has, of course, been recognized in the past that removal of necrotic tissue and wound exudate promotes faster healing, free from infection risk. In the past, others have attempted to formulate wound dressings containing water absorbent polymers such as starch superabsorbent polymers; however, such post compositions have met with limited commercial success.
One of the reasons believed to have been primary in this limited success is that all known past formulations have contained water. Water, when present in such formulations, reduces the viscosity, creates increased stability problems, and selectively holds water-soluble medicament actives so that they are not as easily released into wound exudate.
There is, therefore, a continuing need for improved formulations containing superabsorbent polymers which effectively allow the superabsorbent polymer to absorb wound exudate, while at the same time selectively releasing active medicaments into the wound on a gradual basis to allow the wound to be clean, dry and infection-free. This invention has as its primary objective the fulfillment of this need.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an anhydrous, hydrophilic absorbent wound dressing which can effectively be contained in, and dispensed from a squeeze tube dispensing container, or be impregnated on a gauze pad.
Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide an anhydrous, hydrophilic absorbent wound dressing which contains active medicaments such as antimicrobials which, when applied to the wound site from a dispensing tube, allows wound fluid to be absorbed into the anhydrous, hydrophilic base, while simultaneously displacing into the wound the antimicrobial or pharmaceutically active ingredient.
A still further objective is to provide an anhydrous, hydrophilic absorbent wound dressing which allows slow release of the pharmaceutically active to the infection wound bed while simultaneously absorbing in a superabsorbent polymer, microbial-laden watery exudate.
The method and manner of accomplishing each of the above objectives will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention which follows hereinafter.